Magnetotransport phenomena in layered conductors under magnetic breakdown

Abstract

We study the transport phenomena in layered conductors with rather general electron energy spectrum placed in a high magnetic field [Formula: see text], under conditions when the distance between various sheets of the Fermi surface (FS) may become small under the external effects, such as hydrostatic pressure or impurity atom doping, and electrons can transfer from one sheet of the FS to another due to magnetic breakdown. We calculate the dependence of the in-plane electrical conductivity and magnetoresistance on magnetic field and probability of magnetic breakdown and show that the field-induced quadratic increase of the in-plane resistance in the absence of magnetic breakdown is changed by a linear dependence on [Formula: see text]. With a further reduction of the energy gap between FS sheets, the in-plane resistance is saturated.